Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, left, and his Republican challenger Blake Masters, proper, arrive on stage previous to a televised debate in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Ross D. Franklin, Related Press
Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters saved Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on the defensive for a lot of their first and solely debate Thursday evening, with Masters doing his greatest to tie Kelly to President Joe Biden’s coverage on the economic system and border management, whereas Kelly attacked Masters for his altering stance on abortion and his previous feedback in regards to the 2020 election.
Quite a bit is driving on the Senate race in Arizona. Each events are hoping a win there might assist them preserve or acquire a majority within the Senate. Whereas Republicans had the sting in Arizona for years, with senators like John McCain and Jeff Flake profitable races, previously few years, the state has trended blue. However whereas Kelly is up within the polls, the race remains to be one of the vital watched within the nation.
Kelly, a former astronaut, was first elected to the Senate for 2 years in a particular election in 2020, ending out what was left of McCain’s time period after he died. Masters, a enterprise capitalist, was endorsed by former President Donald Trump within the Republican major. Polls present the race is shut, however Masters has lagged behind Kelly for the reason that primaries and has struggled to lift cash.
The Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee, a political motion committee, mentioned Thursday it could spend “seven figures” to assist Masters, boosting his marketing campaign hours earlier than he was set to debate.
The talk, which additionally included Libertarian Get together candidate Marc Victor, was moderated by Arizona PBS host Ted Simons, whose first query — directed at Kelly — was about inflation and what Democrats had carried out to handle the problem.
Kelly mentioned he “stood as much as Biden” on financial points, and accused Masters of eager to privatize Social Safety. For his half, Masters took each alternative to tie Kelly to Biden, and mentioned he “broke” his promise to be an impartial voice within the Senate, not like his fellow Arizona Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema, who typically bucks her personal celebration.
Masters mentioned he didn’t at all times know the way Sinema would vote, however he knew Kelly would vote with Biden. Biden is spending cash like a “drunken sailor,” he mentioned, whereas accusing Kelly of at all times saying “sure” to Biden’s spending payments.
Moreover the economic system, the primary half of the talk additionally centered on border safety. Kelly was defensive at instances about his report on the border, as Masters claimed the border was “open” and that Kelly voted in opposition to an modification to the Inflation Discount Act that will have elevated the variety of border patrol brokers, whilst he voted to extend the variety of Inner Income Service brokers.
Kelly mentioned the IRS brokers have been essential to ensure the wealthy and “huge companies” have been paying their taxes, and that he had sponsored laws to provide border patrol brokers a elevate.
“When Democrats are unsuitable, like on the border, I name them out on it,” he mentioned, as he referred to as for “complete immigration reform.” Kelly additionally defended “Dreamers” — kids introduced into america illegally by their mother and father, who many say needs to be given a path to citizenship.
Masters responded by saying lax border safety had led to a rise in medicine like fentanyl coming over the border. “The border is large open,” he mentioned. “If the Mexican drug cartels might vote, they'd vote for Kelly. He’s not doing something to cease it.”
When Simons turned to questions on abortion, it was Kelly’s flip to go the assault, as he accused Masters of supporting state and nationwide abortion bans, and of calling abortion “demonic” and eager to punish docs for aiding in abortions.
“He thinks he ought to make these selections for you,” mentioned Kelly.
Masters mentioned it was truly Kelly’s place that was excessive, accusing him of sponsoring and supporting a invoice that will have made abortion authorized up “till the second a child is because of be born.” Kelly denied the invoice he sponsored, the Ladies’s Well being Safety Act, would result in many late-term abortions. The invoice failed within the Senate.
When requested if he scrubbed his web site of his earlier statements about abortion, together with help for a near-total ban on abortions, Masters didn’t reply the query immediately, however mentioned he was “pro-life as a matter of conscience,” and mentioned he supported Arizona’s plan to ban abortion after 15 weeks.
The talk then pivoted to questions surrounding election integrity. Arizona was within the highlight after the 2020 election, when Trump mentioned the election there was stolen from him.
Kelly mentioned he stood on this situation with Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who has repeatedly mentioned the Arizona election was not stolen from Trump. Kelly additionally accused Masters of wanting to remove mail-in ballots, and mentioned there have been penalties that might come from questioning election outcomes.
“We do elections nicely in Arizona,” mentioned Kelly, after saying that the “wheels might come off” American democracy in 2024 over questions on election fraud.
Masters responded by saying he believed the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop computer story by social media firms and information organizations harm Trump’s probabilities at getting elected, and helped Biden.
“I strongly suspect that modified the outcomes of the election,” he mentioned.
The final situation addressed by Kelly and Masters was dwindling water provides within the West, within the midst of a prolonged drought. Kelly mentioned he had gotten cash from Washington to maintain water in Lake Mead for Arizona farmers, whereas he accused Masters of eager to “privatize” the water provide.
Masters mentioned Kelly was performing just like the “third senator from California,” after the federal authorities minimize Arizona’s water allotment from the Colorado River, however didn't minimize California’s provide. He mentioned they wanted to unravel the water disaster utilizing “elbows and know-how,” together with by constructing desalination crops in California.